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Snow Removal Safety Tips

Follow these safety tips while shoveling or using a snowblower outside your home after a snowstorm.

(Published Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018)

Frigid temperatures, some that could feel as cold as minus 30 degrees, moved across the East Coast on Friday as the region attempted to clean up from a massive winter storm that brought more than a foot of snow, hurricane-force winds and coastal flooding a day earlier.

Forecasters predict strong winds and record-breaking cold air will sweep the region, from the mid-Atlantic to New England, and hang around through the weekend.

"This is chilly, chilly stuff," Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said.

The arctic blast could make temperatures feel as low as minus 15 degrees to minus 25 from Philadelphia to Boston and make residents of states like Maryland and Virginia shiver from temperatures ranging from 10 degrees to 15 degrees.

The wind chill could make it feel like minus 35 degrees in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts, the National Weather Service said.

The storm began days ago in the Gulf of Mexico and first struck the Florida Panhandle. By Thursday, it was wreaking havoc as blizzard warnings and states of emergency went into effect along the Eastern Seaboard. Wind gusts hit more than 70 mph (113 kph) in places and some areas saw as much as 18 inches (46 centimeters) of snow.

The storm caused school and business closings, airline and rail service cancellations or reductions and thousands of utilities outages, many of them restored quickly. Some ferry services even had to be shut down along the Canadian coast.

Flights resumed at airports along the East Coast after hundreds were canceled Thursday. Flights in and out of Logan International Airport in Boston, Kennedy Airport in in New York and Bradley Airport in Connecticut resumed Friday, and business was expected to pick up as the day progressed.

In New Jersey, gusty winds carried flames from a vacant building across the street to two other buildings Friday morning. The flames also spread to two structures adjacent to the vacant building, damaging a total of five in Newark. Two firefighters received minor injuries.

In the South, the winter weather forced portable toilets to be put in place outside Mississippi's Capitol after pipes burst and it caused iguanas to become sluggish and topple from trees in South Florida. Residents of southeast Georgia were treated to a rare half foot of snow (15 centimeters).

The Cold Divide

This map shows the current surface temperatures. Actual temperature is influenced by many factors like mountains, convective clouds and cities.

In New England, powerful winds brought coastal flooding that reached historic levels in some communities with icy water overflowing piers, streets and restaurants and stranding some people who had to be rescued.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration verified Friday that water levels at the federal agency's Boston tide gauge reached a peak of 4.89 feet above the average of highest tide readings for the day.

That broke the record of 4.82 feet above, set during the infamous Blizzard of '78 in February of that year.

The flooding sent large trash containers floating down Boston streets, forced the shutdown of a subway station as water cascaded down the steps and prompted rescues of people trapped in cars and homes in Boston and several other Massachusetts communities by rapidly rising waters.

On Friday, hundreds of Sciutate, Massachusetts, residents were without power after their homes flooded, necn reported. Many vehicles were left frozen in ice.

The only place where blizzard conditions were reported during Thursday's storm, however, was Block Island, Rhode Island.

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With cold weather hitting many parts of the country, here are some tips to keep your furry little friends safe and happy this winter.

(Published Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018)

At least seven people died in weather-related accidents.

Four people were killed in North Carolina and South Carolina after their vehicles ran off snow-covered roads, authorities said. Another fatality was reported near Philadelphia when a car could not stop at the bottom of a steep, snow-covered hill and slammed into a commuter train. A passenger in the vehicle was killed. No one on the train was hurt.

In Virginia, a girl was struck by a pickup truck while sledding, and a 75-year-old man was hit by a snow plow while clearing business parking lots, authorities said. Both died at hospitals from their injuries, police said.

In northern New England, temperatures will be below zero this weekend. The high in Burlington, Vermont, on Saturday may only be minus 5 degrees, the meteorologist said.

The South won't be spared, either. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia can expect temperatures around 15 degrees to 20 degrees, Hurley said. Northern Florida will be in the 20s to low 30s.

Sunday morning should bring the coldest temperatures from Portland, Maine, to Washington, D.C. "That's when you'll see records being challenged or broken, with temperatures at or near zero in many places," Hurley said.

Animals at Chicago-Area Zoo Get Holiday Surprise

Some animals at the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois were treated to Christmas trees full of goodies.

(Published Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018)

More seasonable weather is expected to return early next week with temperatures in the high 30s and near 40s, he said. For some, it will feel downright balmy.